Snakes are Scary: A Blogger Needs Counseling

I don't own the copyright, but I did find this as funny as all get out...

Tozer: Prayer of the Minor Prophet

I pray this prayer nearly every time I preach.  All who stand and deliver, you could certainly do worse:

Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet; not a promoter, not a religious manager—but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from the bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

I accept hard work and small rewards in this life. I ask for no easy place. I shall try to be blind to the little ways that I could make my life easier. If others seek the smoother path I shall try to take the hard way without judging them too harshly. I shall expect opposition and try to take it quietly when it comes. Or if, as sometimes it falleth out to Thy servants, I shall have grateful gifts pressed upon me by Thy kindly people, stand by me then and save me from the blight that often follows. Teach me to use whatever I receive in such manner that it will not injure my soul nor diminish my spiritual power. And if in Thy permissive providence honor should come to me from Thy church, let me not forget in that hour that I am unworthy of the least of Thy mercies, and that if men knew me as intimately as I know myself they would withhold their honors or bestow them upon others more worthy to receive them.

And now, O Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven. Though I am chosen of Thee and honored by a high and holy calling, let me never forget that I am but a man of dust and ashes, a man with all the natural faults and passions that plague the race of men. I pray Thee therefore, my Lord and Redeemer, save me from myself and from all the injuries I may do myself while trying to be a blessing to others. Fill me with thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength and tell of Thy righteousness, even Thine only. I will spread abroad the message of redeeming love while my normal powers endure.

Then, dear Lord, when I am old and weary and too tired to go on, have a place ready for me above, and make me to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting. Amen.

I so appreciate Emmerson Eggerichs

If you haven't interacted with Emmerson Eggerichs' book Love and Respect, quit reading right now, click on this link, and order it for yourself.

If you're still here, then I wanted to take a second to ponder this thought as to how wives love their husbands.  I touched on this briefly in the sermon on Sunday (though it may not be posted yet because our webmaster is on a mission trip - if not, stay tuned).

Only once in the NT (Titus 2.4) to my knowledge is a wife instructed to love her husband - and that verb is phileo, which in Paul's usage has a little more "like" to it than emotion or self-sacrifice.  I take that to mean that wives generally do love their husbands.  But Christ's command to respect their husbands is a different deal (Eph. 5.33).

We have a theological context for understanding this command.  You can probably guess it, being as it's related to marriage.  Respecting is how we interact with Christ.  Some have issues going there but let's remember that Jesus is the Lord and is always worth our respect.

But here's the one thing that Eggerichs' book helped me with as a husband and has helped me as a pastor with marriages in our church.  Wives do love their husbands.  But respecting them is the way that husbands sense that love, receive that love.  Wives love husbands by respecting them.

Whatever that looks like in your home, it's a good conversation to have over a dinner date that the husband sets up and for which he arranges childcare (hint hint).  Other specific help is available in that book.  It really is terrific.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

What I learned while my wife was in China...

Here are some random thoughts that have collected in my brain since my wife left for (and has now returned from) China...

First, any mission trip is a family affair.  It doesn't matter how many people are going.  And there's something beautiful about that.  The "we're in this together" attitude spans continents.  And it should.

Having a mission trip that combines passions, skills, and need is the best kind.  Sometimes we combine skills with need like when our church built duplexes in Haiti.  Sometimes we combine passion with need where good relationships occur but little gets done (though not always, I admit).  Sometimes we combine passions and skills, but that often creates a different and unsustainable momentum on the mission field.  Combining all three is the location of the sweet spot.  My wife had that moment:  her passion for orphans, skill as a physical therapist, and the needs of the orphanage.

Kids are resilient.  Much more so than adults.  It always takes the Queen and me a day or two to resettle into our relational routine.  The kids are right back at it.

Neighbors who are willing to watch your kids for a couple of hours while you make a deacons' meeting are like finding the Crown Jewels two doors down.  Neighbors who take your kid to a 5-year old birthday party in a different part of Houston and then let your kid play at their house for 4 hours after they get back are the same.  Crown Jewels.  Seriously.

Keeping children alive while their mother is gone is easy.  Keeping the house standing, not so much.

Cereal is an acceptable dinner.  Macaroni and Cheese makes a reasonable breakfast.

Clearing the way for my wife to (a) encounter God in an overseas context and (b) do ministry on His behalf is a good discipline for me.  So often, she's the one left at home.  One of the things it reminds this pastor:  good things happen even when I'm not involved.  I'm just not all that necessary for the Kingdom.

I married a great woman.  I married her for good reasons.  And we're better together than apart.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

It's not about the Nail - Marriage Greatness

We watched this video yesterday during the sermon.  It's just that funny that I thought I'd repost it.  Hope you laugh like I did (and the gathered church did too!).

Husbands and Wives...

It's Not About the Nail from Jason Headley on Vimeo.

Sermon Notes from Sunday 8.4.13 on Ephesians 5.33

Here are the sermon notes from Sunday, 8.4.13, on Ephesians 5.33.  You can get these notes in PDF and the sermon audio at sermons.heritagepark.org.  You can also download the audio via our podcast on iTunes.

Ephesians

Part 22 – Marriage is a Heart Issue 

Ephesians 5.33

The command is unconditional

• Husbands: love your wives unconditionally
  
• Love: wishing, willing, and working toward someone’s best (typically, God’s
  best for someone)
  
• Wives: respect your husband unconditionally
  
• Respect: voluntary attitude of honor and esteem
  Question of hypocrisy
  

• The issue isn’t whether you feel love or respect – those are American problems
  
• The issue is whether or not you’re acting as such
  
  This works best when you assume goodwill
  

• Conflict can escalate quickly because of the assumption of ill will
  
• Who begins to end the fight? The one who is seeing most clearly
  
  You are responsible for your side of the equation
  Only the HS can change your spouse at the level of his/her heart 

Communicate
Not talking at each other or to each other – but with each other.

Wives: communicate to your husband that he’s your... 
• Hero
• Boyfriend

Husbands: communicate to your wife that she’s your...

• Treasure – longs to feel valued
  
• Partner – longs for connection 
  

I'd love some sermon help...

If you're up for it, you can leave comments here, on Facebook, or on Twitter to help me with my sermon this weekend.

Wives:  I feel most loved by my husband when...

Husbands:  I feel most respected by my wife when...

Thanks for the sermonic aid!  I could very well quote you and you'd be famous for about 15 people and for about 15 seconds.  Congratulations!

Shaven Heads and Church

I know I'm behind in the reporting, but I love the fact that George H. W. Bush (affectionately known as "41") shaved his head for the sake of the kid with leukemia whose dad is on 41's security detail [LINK].  I love that.  I love that 41 is 80+ and still kicking it and that he has the chutzpah to pull off something like that.  Some people thought it was a publicity stunt.  But if you're a former president in your 80's with not much time left on the planet, do you really need publicity?

It reminds me of ministry.  We identify with those who are hurting.  We weep with those who weep (Romans 12.15).  We recognize not only that people around us are hurting - we recognize the people themselves, the ones who are hurting.  And in our best ministry-oriented moments, we enter into their pain to the degree we can and try to alleviate it, strengthen them so they can endure it, or both.

Does that stick anywhere on your life today?  If so, there's probably something to be done.

I can tell story after story of people in our church who have done this.  We're not perfect, but we work hard to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6.2).  And if you don't do that as a church, is it really church?

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

It's a whirlwind, but please don't think I'm heroic

For those who haven't heard, my sweet and courageous wife, the Queen, is in China working to serve orphans through her skills as a physical therapist.  I miss her.  But I'm glad she is being used by God and her unique skill set is being employed.

Some of my most well-meaning friends have talked about how incredible it is that Ginny's gone and I'm at home.  I certainly don't mean to be ungrateful here, but I just don't know what they're talking about.  Let me explain briefly.

Yes, I'm at home with four kids.  My mom has popped in for a couple of days, so there has been help.  Some dear friends brought over a meal today because they're just awesome like that.  We're all alive.  No one has missed a meal.  As I type everyone is sleeping peacefully.  It's a mere ten days.

There are moms and dads who do this solo for days at a time while the spouse travels for work regularly.  I'm no hero.

There are military moms and dads (looking at you, KR) who do this for months at a time.  I'm no hero.

There are single moms and dads who do this solo all the time.  I'm no hero.

There are moms and dads who care for sick spouses for months, then have to grieve as death wins and then help their kids grieve.  I'm no hero.

I'm glad to support my wife.  I rejoice that I have a wife to support.  I'm glad she's on mission and using her God-given skills earned through her hard work.  

Thanks for all who've asked about me and the kids.  We're doing fine.  

Sermon Notes on Ephesians 5.22-24 from 7.28.13

Here are the sermon notes from Sunday, 7.28.13, on Ephesians 5.22-24.  You can get these notes in PDF and the sermon audio via our website, sermons.heritagepark.org.  You can also download the audio via our podcast on iTunes.

Ephesians

Part 22 – Marriage is a Faith Issue (for Wives)

Ephesians 5.22-24

  

Question:  do you notice me?

·      Sarandon Quote from Shall We Dance?  “We need a witness to our lives.  There’s a billion people on the planet.  I mean, what does any one life really mean?  But in a marriage you’re promising to care about everything.  The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things…all of it , all the time, every day.  You’re saying, ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.  Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness.’”

·      Fear:  Am I alone?

·      Fear: Will I matter?

What is the content of the call?

·      Submit to husbands as to Lord

o   Not passive 

o   Not absent from text

What are the expressions of the call?

·      Encouragement – summoning godly leadership out of your husband

·      Affirmation – saying yes to godly leadership by your husband

·      Following – supporting godly leadership by your husband

What are the conditions of the call?

·      As to the Lord – you follow your husband and follow Christ

·      This is about faith in Jesus, not your husband

Forgiveness

·      Find the Cross

·      Deal with Anger

·      Deal with the Issues (see 4.25-32)